Monday, June 22, 2009

I was supposed to write a couple more entries for June 18 and 19 but whatever it was I wanted to write about sure pales in comparison to the news I received last Saturday.

I'm free!!!

Ok, so maybe my regular OB was out that day and it was only her reliever that saw me to interpret my test results... and you know, maybe I took a liiiiiiittle advantage of that. But point is, I have a doctor's go ahead to go back to work. And back to work I am.

I had an ultrasound last weekend which showed what my OB suspected all along that was causing my bleeding. Thing is, there is nothing we can do about it except continue my medication and wait for baby, the uterus and the placenta to move upwards a bit more. According to the reliever OB that I saw last weekend, as long as I avoid anything strenuous, I should be fine. And if bleeding recurs, I am going back to bed rest. I can handle that and would do it willingly... as long as I get a few days of freedom. A few days away from my house is all I ask.

I was almost dancing with happiness while I was walking away from my house this morning on my way to work.

So did I achieve my quest to become the most boring person within my zip code in less than 32 days? I really don't know, but I sure felt like it.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

The quest to become the most boring person within my zip code... in 32 days or less!

June 17, 2009 (Wednesday)

I had a meeting scheduled this morning with my boss via phone conference. He set the meeting up last Monday because according to him, they were making an announcement regarding our team's re-organization this Wednesday and he wanted to discuss it first with the people to be affected directly (i.e. those whose direct reporting lines will change) before the big announcement. I had a good idea how the change will affect me and I was trying to get out of the meeting for the following reasons:

1. Whatever it is they decided to do, I'm sure there is nothing I could do about it anyway. I figured I'd just deal with whatever it is when I get back (if ever I'm going to be allowed to go back at all);

2. Whatever it is, I'm sure my friends at the office will tell me about it after their meeting. And in a way, I'd rather hear it from them (I'm sure they can make it sound more interesting anyway :) What difference does it make if I hear the news a few minutes late? (My 1:1 meeting was scheduled at 9:00 AM and the big team meeting is at 10:30 AM).

3. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's important when you're thinking about work. But right now, I have other more important things to think about. I am scaring myself enough with what's happening to me. I'd rather not add to that.

I couldn't get out of the meeting so meet we did and I was right about how I thought the change will affect me. I had a lot of questions and I can't say I was satisfied with the answers but as I said, I really don't want to think about these things today.

I spent the entire early afternoon texting my friends at the office discussing how we all felt about the changes. Darn! I wish I could have gone online today so we can discuss this more thoroughly via chat. Texting can be so limiting! And then when my husband arrived home from work, I spend the entire early evening yakking about everything I heard. I'm not sure he was listening but it didn't matter. It felt good to hear about something other than what's going on at the latest hottest prime time soap opera or how the government is messing up again (i.e. news).

The quest to become the most boring person within my zip code... in 32 days or less!

June 16, 2009 (Tuesday)

I woke up early to go the hospital laboratory early. If the procedure is to last hours, I'd like it done as early as possible so I can eat already. I always wake up hungry.

I decided not to wake my husband to take me to the hospital. Due to our electric mishap yesterday, he has to take the day off from work to look for that circuit breaker and get an electrician to get it fixed. I left a note for him to take our housekeeper to my mom's house and ask her to take all the contents of our refrigerator so we can store them at my mom's until we get our electricity back on.

I arrived at the hospital before 8:00 AM and I was out by 12:00 NN. My left arm was sore. My first 2 shots were delivered by a med tech who couldn't find a vein on my right arm so he jabbed the needle twice in the same place to draw blood. Ouch! The last 2 were delivered by a different med tech and I deliberately offered her my right arm so we could give my left a break.

I was planning to have my husband drive me to a McDonald's before dropping me off at my mom's house when he picked me up. I miss fastfood!! I havenn't gone this long without fastfood since I was in high school I think. Unfortunately, when I called my husband after my lab test, he was driving around Ortigas looking for a hardware with the electrician. They've been looking for that darned circuit breaker all morning and couldn't find one in the big hardware stores. I had to take a cab and McDonald's is out.

Cabs... my personal kryptonite. I was hoping to go through this entire month without ever discussing cabs but I guess that was not to be. The cab I took took me to inner roads near San Francisco Del Monte "para iwas tayo sa traffic" (to avoid traffic). I was familiar with the area so I didn't mind at first but the inner roads were bumpy (which was making me nervouse because I felt a cramp after every hard bump) and I noticed we were going around in circles. I knew the general direction we were supposed to take to reach the main road but I noticed we were just turning and turning... probably to prolong the ride. I was hungry, my arm hurts, and the bumpy roads was making me cramp. I snapped. I told the driver to take the cab out to the main road now. I told him I was pregnant and bleeding that's why I was at the freakin hospital and that if I miscarry, I'll make sure he is found and shot! I was ready to grab his head and slam it to the window if he so much as makes a stupid remark. I was that worked up and he probably noticed it. He gave me a guilty look, quickly averted his gaze and just said "Ay...", made a turn and guess what? I was right, we were near the exit the main road for while... and there was no freaking traffic.

I'm not sure if it was the dehydration due to lack of liquid intake during the lab procedure, the strain on my body due to the stupid bumps on the inner roads that the stupid cab took, or the stress due to the stupid cab... but I was spotting again when I got to my mom's house.

My husband came for a me after a few hours after they were able to get the electricity up and running again on our house.

The quest to become the most boring person within my zip code... in 32 days or less!

June 15, 2009 (Monday)

Start of another boring week... hooray for Mondays!! (And to top it off, it's raining again).

One thing I'm thankful for, I missed going to work on a lot of rainy days. I hate going out during rainy days. You get your shoes wet, the edges of your jeans wet... and if there's wind, even your bag and your hair get wet.

Anyway... I was scheduled for a glucose test today so I went to the hospital with my husband this morning. I expected it to be similar to the one I had before... where they make you take this sickeningly sweet orange liquid and wait for an hour before they take your blood. This time thought, my doctor advised me to fast for at least 8 hours before going to lab. She forgot to mention that I am not supposed to take medicines before as well.

I got the laboratory, took a number and waited. When it was my turn, the nurse told me how the test was supposed to go... I am to take the orange liquid, and then they will take my blood 4 times at 1 hour intervals. Wow... no one told me it was supposed to take that long! And I can't eat or drink anything during that period! I was asked if I ate anything and I told them no... she didn't ask about any medication I was taking so I assumed it was unimportant. I filled out some forms and waited for my name to be called. I decided to let my husband go to work since there was no need for us to be bored out of our heads while waiting for the lab test to end. I told him I'd call him when it's over so he can come get me.

A few minutes after my husband left, my name was called and as I was being prepared for the needle, the med tech asked again re my food intake. I decided to tell her about the medicine I took that morning just to be sure. That was not ok. She asked me to return the following day for the test. So I wasted my entire morning going to the hospital and waiting and going hungry for nothing.

I spent the day at my mom's house, surfing the internet. My husband picked me up after work and as we approached our house, I noticed that the lights at the garage were not turned on. In fact, there seems to be no light at all inside the house. I worried a little but as I opened the main door, my housekeeper greeted me and told me that the lights went off earlier that morning around 11AM. She heard something explode outside before the lights went off and that she noticed that only our house was affected.

And of course, she waited until we got home to tell us.

Though we don't allow our housekeeper to leave the house when we're not home (for security reasons), we left a key with instructions to use it in case of emergencies. She told me she couldn't text me because her prepaid phone has no load. I told her she could have gone out and loaded her phone so she could call me (as I instructed her to do before) and I would reimburse her. Apparently, she didn't consider this an emergency.

I called Meralco and they were able to send a crew to look into the matter. The explosion my housekeeper heard earlier was our circuit breaker and we need to replace it. It was outside Meralco's responsibility. My husband tried to find a circuit breaker that night while I called my uncle to ask if he knows an electrician we could call at that late hour. It was an unsuccessful effort so we spent the night in darkness... without TV or electric fan.

The quest to become the most boring person within my zip code... in 32 days or less!

June 14, 2009 (Sunday)

Is it Father's Day today? Until this morning, I wasn't sure so I made plans to go to my mom's house this afternoon, Father's Day or not.

There wasn't much to do in the morning while waiting for my husband to wake up. I just watched TV. The highlight of my day is visiting my mom's house this afternoon and swinging by the salon before going home to get my hair trimmed.

I used to have my hair straightened every 6 months but since I can't do that now, I decided to have the straight ends cut. My hair is now back to it's unmanageable self. It's a good thing I don't go out much these days. I wouldn't know how to begin to style this.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

The quest to become the most boring person within my zip code... in 32 days or less!

(Less I hope!)

June 13, 2009 (Saturday)

Today is the probably the most boring day of this entire ordeal. I was going out of my mind with boredom. And well, I guess idle minds breed not so good thoughts.

We had a minor household issue. It was something I noticed before but never really gave much thought but today, my husband raised it. So he noticed it as well. It's something I would have dismissed at another time but my mind had plenty of time to dwell on it so dwell on it I did.

I used up all my cellphone prepaid load telling my mom all about it and spent the entire afternoon sulking alone while my husband went out for a bike ride with one of his friends. As a result, I ended up depressing myself the entire day. When he got home, I asked him if he wants to take me out for a drive... anywhere. But it was raining a little and we both knew the traffic a little water on the roads can cause so we didn't get to go out.

The quest to become the most boring person within my zip code... in 32 days or less!

June 12, 2009 (Friday)

Today is a non-working day. Not that it matters to me (hmmm... actually it does, one less day to charge to my vacation days, yey!!).

I noticed that I stopped brushing my hair.

Seriously.

After my morning bath, I'd run a comb to get all the tangles out, then wait for my hair to dry, and then tie it in a pony tail. During the day, I'd just run my fingers through my hair and tie it in a pony tail or a bun. As a result, my hair went back to being its wavy unruly self. I was due for a hair rebond last May to maintain the straight look but... well... it's out of the question for now.

Since MG and I had nothing to do today, I had been whining and pleading for him to take me to the salon so I can get a haircut. I wanted to get the straight ends cut to allow my hair to wave naturally. Going out for a whim is, of course, out of the question... and I can not justify why I can not wait another week until I'm out of bed rest (hopefully!) to get a haircut. He doesn't get it... I want a haircut and I want a haircut now!

Monday, June 15, 2009

The quest to become the most boring person within my zipcode... in 32 days or less!

June 11, 2009 (Thursday)

When you want something done right... you really should do it yourself.

So going against doctor's orders... I had my husband swing by the supermarket before dropping me off at my mom's. I don't think a few minutes of walking to get stuff I really want will hurt me that much.

It all started with Pringles last Monday. I was craving for Pringles so I sent my housekeeper to the nearby grocery to get me one. Unfortunately... she didn't know what it was. So before she left, I described Pringles to her, and I never realized Pringles was that complicated. See... there are now 2 variations: the original one (you know, the kind we all grew up with) and this new variety from Asia that comes in slimmer canisters. I prefer the original ones since I don't like the spices they use for the ones that come in slimmer canisters. I told her both are usually available at the grocery store but I wanted the one in the "fatter" canisters. When she came back, she got me the one that was packed in plastic foil (the single serving ones)... not the one in the canisters. Ok... small thing, but I wanted the ones in canisterst to avoid sending her out everytime I felt like munching on Pringles. But well... it wasn't her fault.

Then yesterday, I mentioned my wishlist. My husband was supposed to get me Baked Ziti with Tomato Sauce (half serving) but he decided he wanted some as well and since he liked meat sauce, he ordered a whole serving with meat sauce. I didn't want meat sauce... I wanted tomato sauce! In fact, I have never wanted meat sauce ever!! So there went what would have otherwise been a nice dinner for me. I was so frustrated I actually cried as I screamed silently into my pillow so no one would hear. I didn't want my husband to know since he already took the time to go out of his way to get it for me.

And then this morning... I woke up cranky. I was supposed to stay at home all day but I was craving Ruffles. Again I asked my housekeeper to get meRuffles at the nearby grocery. I already pointed this out to her twice when I was able to go to the grocery with her but she told me she doesn't remember. Though I was near tears with frustration, I never showed it because it's not anyone's fault around me... what was happening to me. I told her never mind, went back upstairs and got ready to go out. When my husband woke up, I told him he is dropping me off at my mom's house and that I absolutely need to go to the grocery store before we go. He agreed.

So at the grocery store this morning, I bought everything... EVERYTHING I could possibly want for a week. It's so hard when you can't do things for yourself anymore.

While I was online earlier, I was chatting with a friend and I told her about my situation. She told me how she also had a difficult pregnancy, and that she actually gave birth before 7 months. Wow. I didn't know that was possible it actually gave me hope (not that I want to give birth prematurely, it just gave me hope that if I really will not be able to carry to term, that there is a chance my baby would survive...).

Thursday, June 11, 2009

The Quest to become the most boring person within my zip code… in 32 days or less!

June 10, 2009 (Wednesday)

No, I did not end up destroying my gate with a hammer this morning trying to get even.

But certain people are doing their best to get on my nerves though.

(enter neighbor’s maids…)

I buzzed my housekeeper early this morning to ask her to pick up the contents of our trash can upstairs. It’s Wednesday, trash day, so she has to make sure our garbage is outside before the garbage trucks arrive. After taking a bath, I went downstairs to get breakfast and my housekeeper told me that while she was sweeping outside, she saw one of the neighbor’s maids dump the contents of her dust pan in my grass area. In yesterday’s blog, I was merely explaining why I am beginning to really hate them. Well, today, she justified yesterday’s story. My housekeeper was in plain sight, cleaning that area when that stupid maid dumped their garbage on my property, and then immediately entered their house and closed the gate. My housekeeper waited outside until the other maid came out. My housekeeper asked her to tell the other maid not to dump their garbage at our house. This other maid said ok, then went inside. A few minutes later, both maids came out and confronted my housekeeper. My housekeeper asked them again not to dump garbage on our property. The guilty one just stared at her (dumbly, I’m guessing) and after a while said ok, and started cleaning my grass area where she dumped her garbage. She did good this time. What’s so annoying is that they keep doing it again and again! Next time it happens, I told my husband we are filing a complaint with the baranggay council.

Last night, it was announced on the news that there will be a 5-hour black out today, sometime between 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM, as Meralco needs to conduct repairs. They didn’t specify particular areas so I wasn’t sure if my area is included. I worried all day, waiting for the black out to start. I was hoping it will start early while it’s daylight. That I can live with. Turns out, I need not have worried. My area is not included in the list of affected areas.

I was feeling a little depressed this afternoon. And bad mood always follows depression. I was actually waiting for this because I knew this would happen. I’ve been doing a good job keeping my spirits up the past few days in spite of my exile. And today… I guess I just ran out of reasons to smile.

I gave my husband wish list this morning (mostly, related to my cross stitch project, since I can’t go to the mall to get them myself):

He arrived early this afternoon, around 3:00PM. Apparently, his office was affected by the black out so they were allowed to go home at 11:00 AM. He came from the mall to get me the stuff I asked for. When I heard he came from the mall… I felt a pang of jealousy. I WANTED TO GO TO THE MALL!!! I started to feel cranky.

To make matters worse, I couldn’t make the laptop connect to the internet using my husband’s phone. Crankier and crankier.

The Quest to become the most boring person within my zip code… in 32 days or less!

June 9, 2009 (Tuesday)

And God said, “Love thy neighbor…”(I wonder... does that mean "neighbor" meaning I just pick one... or should it be "neighbors"???)

So neighbors, I really wish you won’t make it so hard for others to love you.

I’ve been having neighbor problems. My husband and I have been trying to ignore them to keep the peace but these days, it’s enough test on my patience without having to deal with inconsiderate people.

One of my neighbors has 2 maids who consider the grass area in front of my house their personal garbage area. Every Wednesday and Saturday, they see fit to leave their garbage in front of our property while waiting for the garbage trucks in spite of several requests not to do so. Kids from a nearby slum area go through the garbage left outside before the garbage trucks can get them, scattering pieces of trash in the area in the process. I don’t understand why those 2 can’t just leave their garbage in front of their house. They probably want to keep their area clean… leaving us to take care of their scattered trash. My husband and I have actually caught them in the act of emptying their dust pans in our grass area after sweeping the front of their house. One time, my husband made them come out and clean our area after they dumped their dirt there. They actually did… but when we requested to speak to the owner of the house, they kept telling us it’s just them at home. I’m not sure if they were lying but at the time, we let it go at that.

And then, there is other neighbor who decided to make house repairs at 11:30PM last Saturday night. The sounds of a hammer hitting metal and wood can be heard well into the night. I’m not sure if we were the only ones who couldn’t sleep due to the noise but I think no one complained because he didn’t stop.

And then this morning… (take deep breaths, Janelle…) I woke up to the sound of, again... someone who seemed to be making repairs on his gate. The sound woke me because initially I thought it was someone trying to open my gate. Listening more closely, I figured it wasn’t coming from my house but from somewhere nearer than the one making the noise on Saturday night. The noise was louder this time. Oh… did I forget to mention that it was 4:30 in the morning? I wasn’t able to go back to sleep. I kept hearing the sound until around 5:30 when sounds of other people waking and going about their business, passing cars, and pouring rain began to drown out the annoying hammering sound of metal on metal. I got up at 6:30 and found my housekeeper cleaning downstairs. I asked her if she heard the sound and she said yes. I was right that it sounds close to our house because she also thought someone was trying to force open our gate so she went out to look.

I told my husband that I plan to go out tomorrow morning at 3:00 AM and start hitting our metal gate with a hammer loudly. He was worried about the gate’s paint chipping.

The rest of my day was a bit more peaceful. Mostly, I pondered on the question of why was it so difficult to find pandesal in my area. By pandesal, I mean those sold on neighborhood bakeries per piece and packed in brown paper. I can get pandesal de pugon and those “special” pandesals from bigger and more commercial bakeries nearby but those are not the ones I want. I want the small pandesals you buy per piece and wrapped in brown paper!!! Why are they so out of my reach??? Maybe I can get my mom to buy some for me and have them sent to my house… but the cab fare of the person bringing it to me will probably cost 10x more than the cost of my pandesal.

The Quest to become the most boring person within my zip code… in 32 days or less!

June 8, 2009 (Monday)

In my dreams I was supposed to have been back at work today.

I asked my husband if I can stay at my mom’s house today while he’s at work so I can use the phone and internet to settle things at the office regarding my long absence. My sister doesn’t have work on Mondays, one of my brothers starts work in the evening, and my other brother’s classes were suspended for 2 weeks due to the outbreak of Influenza A(H1N1). There’s also my niece, Helaena. I sure could use the company.

I stayed in my mom’s bedroom with her laptop all day. I called my boss to clear my long absence and then spent about an hour going through my office email. I left the bedroom door open so Helaena could wander in every now and then on her walker. She really is so cute! Too bad I can’t pick her up. I’ll have to settle with the few cuddles I can get whenever she allows it.

I miss being online all the time! I miss working on my farm (Farm Town on Facebook, do check it out). I miss stalking my favorite celebrities on Twitter. And I miss getting updates on my friends on Facebook. I don’t think I’d mind being sentenced like this if I can stay online all day. But I’m not allowed to do that as well. Anything that might be a potential source of stress is not allowed. I’ll have to settle with the few hours I can get each day.

The Quest to become the most boring person within my zip code… in 32 days or less!

June 7, 2009 (Sunday)

I was looking through our compilation of old VCD’s, looking for something I haven’t seen in a while. I saw VCD’s of Anne Frank. I can’t remember ever having seen it so I decided to pop the first CD in the player. Plus, it had 3 CD’s… I figured that should occupy me for a while. I picked up my cross stitch project and continued working on it while I watched.

There was a note shown before the actual movie was played. Something like the movie did not use actual words that Anne used in her diary and was based more on interviews with sources. Anyway, I’m not sure I like that movie. The way they portrayed Anne Frank… she was annoying (only word I can think of). She shows no respect or love for her mother, was a bit self-centered, and was acting like a spoiled child while they were in hiding. I wonder how accurate that depiction was. I’ve read the book years ago and I don’t remember the general tone of her diary every being like that. Anyway, I never got to finish the movie. I was on the second CD when my husband joined me. He got bored after a few minutes so he ejected the CD and put in a new one.

The Quest to become the most boring person within my zip code… in 32 days or less!

June 6, 2009 (Saturday)

“What did you do?” my doctor asked when I went to her office this afternoon.

Why do they always assume I did something? I didn’t do anything. I was sleeping! SLEEPING!!!

I woke up this morning feeling a bit hopeful. I was thinking I might be allowed to go to work on Monday because aside from the few drops of blood I saw last Wednesday, everything was normal on Thursday and Friday, including my strength. I wasn’t feeling as tired.

I guess it was too early to think that way.

After eating breakfast, my husband and I were watching TV when I started feeling drowsy. I decided to go upstairs and take a nap.

I woke up a few hours after, and went to the bathroom. What I saw alarmed me. Blood. More blood than those other times. I guess I started bleeding while I was asleep. I was feeling really, really frustrated. I don’t get it… I was in bed! I was asleep! This happened while I was following doctor’s orders! It’s not fair.

I called my husband and told him and we went to see my doctor. After examining me, my doctor told me that she’s afraid my cervix is beginning to open. I don’t rightly know what that means but it sounded ominous. She scheduled an ultrasound and a few lab tests during my last visit and now, she updated the schedules so I can get those procedures done earlier because we will now need the results earlier. The last scheduled test on my list is June 20. At first, she advised me to on bed rest until after we get the last results on June 20. The blood I saw was still in my head so I thought that was fair and agreed. She checked my charts again with a worried look on her face, looked at me and said I should make it a month. I laughed. I honestly thought she was kidding since she knew how I felt about bed rest. She didn’t smile back as she started writing my medical certificate and prescription so the smile froze on my face and I was barely able to mumble that ok, I’ll tell my boss.

I was in a daze as my husband drove me to my mom’s house. We decided that he will leave me there for the afternoon while he attends a meeting.

That night, while I was waiting for my husband to come for me, I was discussing my condition with my mom. She was asking me to consider the possibility of resignation. I can’t even begin to contemplate one month of bed rest. How the hell am I supposed to consider quitting my job and staying at home until I give birth? She said there is a possibility that my condition may not improve. I don’t want to even think about it. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. So much depends on June 20. I hope the tests show that I’m fine and I can go back to living my life.

During our discussion, my mom suggested I talk to the baby. By the way, if you are all wondering, baby is fine. I feel him/her moving inside me all the time now. So ok, baby and I will have a serious talk:

Dear baby, don’t worry. Mommy and daddy will make sure that you will be ok. Mommy will go through this because she doesn’t have a choice but you can forget about having a brother or sister :) You should cooperate, baby, because mommy might lose her job if you don’t. Your life will be so much more comfortable if both mommy and daddy have jobs. Mommy promises to shop for you after she’s released from bed rest. Just stay where you are a while longer. Why are you rushing to come out anyway? You will have enough time to spend out here… you will have years! But in the womb, you only get 37 weeks. I heard the womb is a warm and safe place. So just enjoy the time you get to spend there, ok? NOTE: By the way baby, if you can put in a little extra effort to make sure you come out cute, mommy will appreciate that very much. Thanks! :)

We got home at around 10PM. My husband apparently did a little shopping before picking me up. He got me and intercom system. He had it installed in a few minutes so now, there really is little reason for me to leave my bedroom. Everything I need is just a buzz away.

The Quest to become the most boring person within my zip code… in 32 days or less!

June 5, 2009 (Friday)

How much longer do I have to do this??? My friends kept telling me I should enjoy the chance to rest. I can do rest for a few days… but there are freedoms I would have enjoyed while resting that I can not do now. Go to the grocery for example. Or go out to withdraw money from the ATM. Simple things. I am not allowed to do anything.

Most of us take grocery shopping for granted. I’m beginning to realize how difficult it can get when you start trusting someone to do it for you. You arm them with money and a grocery list, and they pretty much get everything right on the list. What’s missing is the element of… surprise I guess? New items you would have wanted to try had you seen them. Or things not on the list but you remember you need (or simply want!) only because you see them on the shelves. Choosing alternatives is another thing. When something on your list is not available, you try to look for alternatives. Only sometimes, the person doing your grocery will decide on an alternative that you won’t have chosen had it been you doing the grocery. This is so frustrating!

Anyway, I spent most of the day on the couch watching movies from HBO (or was it Star Movies? I don’t really remember). You’ve Got Mail. Batman Returns. I remember watching Batman Returns when I was in high school. For some reason, seeing that movie was part of a school activity. Back in the province when I was in high school, there was only one movie theater that shows movies in English. And they were double features. You get to watch 2 movies (and waste most of your day watching those 2 movies) for the price of one. If I remember correctly, Batman Returns was doubled with Beauty and the Beast. Good times. Good times.

Later this afternoon, Ghost Rider was showing on Cinemax. Yep, I’m sure it was Cinemax. Because in the middle of the movie, the lights blinked… and went off entirely.

Power’s out.

Does someone out there hate me???

Strong winds and rain had been hitting our area for about a week now. If there was an upside to my incarceration, it’s that I don’t have to go out in that to go to work. I just lay there on the couch the entire time, pondering the fate that should befall me if we don’t get electricity back on soon. No going out. No lights. No television. My world seemed very dark indeed. The electricity was out for about an hour and that must have been the longest hour of my recent life that I can remember.

The Quest to become the most boring person within my zip code… in 32 days or less!

June 4, 2009 (Thursday)

Since I had nothing planned for today… oh wait, I’m not allowed to have anything planned for today, so let's leave that line of thought.

Anyway, I decided that today is a good time to start cleaning out the room I want my future baby to use. I don’t actually have to do any work. I can just tell my housekeeper what to do.

After MG left for work, I asked the housekeeper to help me upstairs. I asked her to take out all the contents of the closet in my baby’s future room and lay everything on the floor. When all the stuff was laid out on the floor, I had her check what was inside boxes but I wasn’t really in the mood and in the condition to really go through everything. I classified stuff as “big boxes”, “medium boxes” and “small boxes”. I’ll improve my sorting classification in the future when I’m feeling better.

We then moved on to the other room where all the stuff from baby’s room are going to go. It was important to fit everything inside the closet in this other room. Our guests use this room so I had to keep it in order in spite of the added junk I was about to add from the other room. It was much easier that I thought, since I didn’t have to do any lifting. Even with the hour it took for my housekeeper and I to break for lunch, we were done by early afternoon.

My baby’s room is now clean and ready! (Ok so the baby is not really going to stay there but I need somewhere to keep his/her stuff).

I spent part of the afternoon sorting through some papers from my first job that I found in the closet. I plan to use them as scratch paper and I have a decent-sized pile after I finished, as well as old folders that the papers came in that are unmarked (recycling is in! Let's all go green!) I set them aside to bring to the office on Monday. I then spent the rest of the afternoon cross stitching *groan*. I know, I know… life can get really exciting sometimes huh? It’s one of the things I can do while in bed!

As I was waiting to fall asleep this evening, I turned on the TV. It is a bit late and way past my normal bedtime, but The Other Boleyn Girl was showing. I have always wanted to see that movie but never had the time to so I decided to watch. There was this part when Mary Boleyn started bleeding while she was carrying the king’s illegitimate baby. Those attending to her told her parents that she has to start lying in. So that’s what they called this during their day, lying in. Well, I hope I won’t have to be lying in for long.

The Quest to become the most boring person within my zip code… in 32 days or less!

June 3, 2009 (Wednesday)

The day started out like any normal working day for me. I woke up later than I usually would have which means I had breakfast late… and I took my medicine late. I wanted to take my medicine early in the morning so the side effect would have worn off by the time I get to work, but last night, I remembered I have a meeting scheduled for this afternoon which was to last until 7PM (past my normal working hours). That meant I can go to work later than usual to offset the extra hours I would have to spend in the office for my meeting in the afternoon. I decided not to set my alarm so I can have a few extra hours of sleep.

When I got to work, I did the usual stuff. I turned on my PC, checked my mail, and started drafting a process document I was working on. Thirty minutes into my working day, I started to feel funny. I was literally falling asleep on my desk. I couldn’t hold my head up. I felt that I didn’t have the strength to. I tried resting for a while, thinking it was fatigue. I mean I get tired more easily these days. But nothing worked.

My boss wasn’t at his table at this time so I decided to wait for him and tell him I’m taking half the day off. It was another 30 minutes before I decided I can’t wait a few more hours to complete a half-day so I decided to tell my boss there and then and just forget I went to work that day.

I went to bed immediately when I got home. I was able to get a few minutes rest before my housekeeper had lunch ready. After eating, I decided to take another shower to cool off. That’s when I found out that I was bleeding again. Only a few drops actually but I remember that my doctor said that if bleeding occurs again, I will have to go on bed rest for a week.

I called my doctor to inform her. She advised me to go on bed rest for a week and to see her if bleeding continues.

I spent the afternoon in bed, reading a book MG bought about the 92nd Signal Battalion during WWII.

The Quest to become the most boring person within my zip code… in 32 days or less!

June 2, 2009 (Tuesday)

I’m back at the office. I never thought I’d actually miss going to work but faced with the possibility of bed rest… it makes going to work actually exciting: free air conditioning & internet, a mall within walking distance, and people around me to talk to.

Well, my bed rest wasn’t too bad. Even before I got pregnant, I had always been afraid of the possibility that it would happen to me. I hear about friends being confined to their beds for weeks. The idea is unthinkable to me.

When I got to the office, more good news… Facebook can be accessed again! The site had been blocked for a week last week and I was afraid it will be blocked forever. Unthinkable!! (Come to think of it, the doctors were asking me while I was under observation in the Labor Room last Saturday if there was something stressing me out or bothering me at work… I think losing Facebook was probably it, hehe).

Earlier today, I decided to go to work earlier than usual so I can go home earlier. I was hoping to be home by the time my medicine’s side effect kicks in. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it to work as early as I had hoped so I was still at work when I took the medicine and the side effect kicked in. By the time I went downstairs to wait for a cab, I was fighting my body as it seemed to be shutting down with fatigue. I made it home safely but I told my husband he may have to start picking me up from work in the afternoons since I feel too tired to go home by myself.

The Quest to become the most boring person within my zip code… in 32 days or less!

June 1, 2009 (Monday)

It’s the first day of the month… and I’m missing work. Great! I had an appointment scheduled with my doctor this afternoon. Aside from feeling more tired than usual all the time, I was feeling ok. No more blood since yesterday so all’s good. I was confident she would give me the go ahead to go to work tomorrow.

And I was right. She just asked me to continue taking my medication, reducing frequency to twice a day.

MG wanted to go to the mall after our doctor’s appointment but for some reason, I was feeling very tired and wasn’t in the mood to go walking around so I asked to be brought home. I should have taken the opportunity! I didn’t know it was the last sanctioned mall trip I could take for a long time!

We ended up going straight home.

NOTE: In retrospect, I should have gone to the mall... I never realized that this was the last time I could have gone in a long time :(

The Quest to become the most boring person within my zip code… in 32 days or less!

May 31, 2009 (Sunday)

I woke to the sound of my phone beeping. I had 2 messages. One from sister sending a photo of my niece, Helaena (she really is turning out so cute!) and one from my mom asking me if we were going to church. I reminded her that I was ordered to go on bed rest so no.

My housekeeper was out for most of the day so I had to prepare my own breakfast. The bleeding stopped so I felt well enough to go downstairs and eat. After eating, I took the medicine I was prescribed yesterday. The resident warned me that heart palpitation is a possible side effect of the drug. I wasn’t told that it would make you very, very, very sleepy as well. The kind that you couldn’t fight. So I spent the morning knocked out. I was supposed to take the medicine 3 times a day so I took another one early in the afternoon. This time, the side effect wasn’t so bad, I just felt very tired but I was able to spend time watching TV with my husband.

I asked him if he wanted to go to the mall alone to get those mud guards he wanted for his bike. No sense for both of us to go out of our minds with boredom. I was hoping he would go because I wanted him to get a few things for me, but he told me he wasn’t in the mood to go to the mall. I guess he didn’t want to leave me alone until the housekeeper returns from her day off.

Monday, June 8, 2009

The Quest to become the most boring person within my zip code… in 32 days or less!

I initially wanted to call this “Becoming the most boring person in the WORLD!” or something like that but I know exaggerating a bit. I’m sure there are other people out there more boring than I am (I hope!).

May 30, 2009 (Saturday)

The day started out like most of my Saturdays. I woke up, reminded my housekeeper to take out the trash, had breakfast, drank my milk, took my vitamins and crashed into the couch to watch cartoons while waiting for MG to wake up. As I was lying there, several things were going through my head: My hair is long overdue for a trim and I really should get my hair blow dried at the salon for the wedding this afternoon; I wonder if I have enough time to get a manicure and pedicure as well?; Reminder to self, greet El today. Plans, plans, plans. Little did I know that none of these were to happen because my life was about to change in just a few minutes.

In the middle of sitcom reruns on Star World, I went to the bathroom and that was when I found out.

I rushed upstairs, woke my husband and told him. Always the… um… calm person that he is, he took this book we had been reading (What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi Murkoff), opened it to the page that says that bleeding is normal for some people during their second and third trimesters, and handed it to me. He then got up and went about his morning routine and told me we were seeing my doctor in the afternoon (since her clinic hours start at 1:00PM). His calm reaction and the book’s rational explanation reassured me so I just decided to lie down with my feet up. However, panic began to well up as I lay there alone with my thoughts. I have been feeling pain, like pre-menstrual cramps, the past few days including that morning. So I did what I usually do when I’m having anxiety attacks… I called my mom.

When she picked up, I asked her if she thinks bleeding is normal when you’re past your 4th month of pregnancy (of course, I believe that mommy knows everything!). All I wanted to hear was for her to say “Yes” so I can go back to enjoying my Saturday in peace. But she said “Of course not! Why?” in a tone that was slightly alarmed. Hearing her made me panic again and I told her what was happening. She scolded me for not going to the hospital immediately and told me that she’s meeting me at the emergency room in a few minutes.

So my husband and I got dressed and drove to the hospital where I spent a few hours alone in the Labor Room under observation, while my mom, my stepfather, and my husband waited outside. I was asked if I wanted to be admitted for further observation but by that time, the bleeding has stopped and I felt fine so I told them no. I was given medication, instructions to go on bed rest for a few days, and was asked to see my doctor again on Monday. With that, we left the hospital.

I wasn’t able to attend my friend’s wedding that afternoon. Sorry Chinx! :(